Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement introduced a report on the provision of new special education needs and disabilities (SEND) school places.

The Council had a statutory obligation to provide a school place for every child or young person who wanted one in the borough.  The demand for places from pupils with SEND was steadily increasing and, in response, the Council planned to create additional capacity.

The Cabinet Member and Champion for Disabilities explained that Additional Resource Provisions (ARPs) were educational provisions set up within a mainstream school, designed to provide vital specialist and targeted support for pupils with long term SEND.  ARPs were very popular with parents and carers as they cater for pupils and young people in a local context. With this targeted help, many pupils or young people with additional learning needs could make better, more sustained progress when they attended mainstream schools.

Cabinet Members spoke in support of the proposal and commented on the life changing support given by ARPs to the young people in the Borough.

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree the permanent establishment of seven new Additionally Resourced Provisions (ARPs) at the following schools:

(ii)  Agree the expansion of the following three ARPs as detailed below:

(iii)  Agree the closure of the ARP at Eastbrook Secondary School for pupils with social, emotional and mental health disorders in light of the new provision at Eastbrook Primary School and future additional provision at Pathways Special School.